System for feeding by means of a vacuum



E A. ROCKWELL.

SYSTLM FOR FEEDING BY MEANS OF AVVACUUM.

APPLICATION HLED JUNE 4, 1919.

Famed ov. 23, 1920;

3 SHEETS-SHEET1.

E. A. ROCKWELL. SYSTEM 'FOR FEEDING BY MEANS OF A VACUUM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 4, 1919. v 1 360 132?, Patanfed Nov. 23, 192%.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

E. A. ROCKWELL SYSTEM FOR FQEDING BY MEANS OF A VACUUM" APPUCATION FILEDmum, 291 9.

Patentefi NGVQ 23, 11.92%.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- J ,ATO NYS entree srarss earner caries.

EDWARD A. ROCKWELL. OF NEW YORK, 1v. 1., ASSIGNOR TO E. A. Room/rum;COMPANY. mo, OF NEW YORK. N. Y., A. CORPORATION or NEWYORK.

SYSTEM FOR FEEDING BY MEANS 03? A VACUUM.

Application filed June 4, 1919.

I! '0 all to hem it may conwrn Be it known that-fl. linen-um ltocn-WELL, a citizen of the l'nited States. residing at New York City. in thecounty of New York and State of Xew York. have invented a certain newand useful Improvement in Systems for Feeding by Means of a Vacuum,

Another object of my invention is to provide a feeding system of thischaracter which is so constructed that a large volume of fuel may befed. Again the object of my invention is to provide an apparatus inwhicl'l thcre is a vacuum tank or chamber adapted to be supplied withfuel by means of the vacuum oi the internal combustion engine with whichit is connected. said yacuum tank being arranged to discharge .veryrapidly into an auxiliary supply tank or chamber through an openingnormally closed by a valve which may be readily unseatcd by means of arelatively small force exerted thereon. Another object oi my inventionis to provide a simple construction of this character which maybemanufacturedat a minimum cost. Still another ob ject of my invention isto provide an apparatus in which the degree of vacuum applied ismaintained substantially constant irrespective ot diti'ercnt' enginespeeds and ditierent degrees of vacuum applied by the engine atdifi'erent times. so as to obtain thus a uniformity in operation of theapparatus,

and increase the volume of fuel which may be carried by the vacuum tankowing to the small size of the operating float contained therein. -Theobject oi my invention is, furthermore. to in this way provide a feeding system which has sutlicient capacity and speed oi operation tosupply engines of large. horse ower. as for example engines used fordriving heavy motor vehicles.

Further objects of my invention will appear from the detaileddescription thereof contained hereinafter.

While my invention is capable oi embodiment in many different forms, forthe. purpose oi illustration I shall show only one Specificationo'fLetters Patent.

means of screws (5.

Patented Nov. 23, 192%.

Serial no. 301,827.

form of my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which;

Figure l is a vertical section of an apparatus made in accordance withmy invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view partly in section: of the vacuum chamber of anauxiliarysupply tank. I

Fig. 3 is a vertical section showing the cover for the vent pipe, and

Figs. 4. 5 and 6 are diagrammatic views showing the different positionsof the parts.

' in the operation of the apparatus.

In. the drawings. I have shown a vacuum tank or chamber 1, which maybeconnected by means of a pipe. 2 to a mainsupply tank for fuel, such asgasolene, and which may be connected also by a. pipe 3-3, having a small'port 3 to the intake manifold of an internal combustion engine,such'for example as an automobile engine. The discharge end of the pipe.2 may be screw threaded in a sleeve 3* which may have a groove 33" toreceive a. ring 3" \vhich'may hold in place. a screen 53", so as toprevent the entry of dirt.into the apparatus. At the top oi thechamber 1. there is, furtlicrmore, provided an automatic means torvacuum re. lease. preferably comprising valve casing it" which carriestherein a vacuum release valve 3 shown as pressed upwardly against itsseat by a spring '3 supported by a cross pin 3 into the valve casing 23.The. lower tree edge, oi the chamber 1 may have a. shoul dcred flange 4which fits over the top or separating plate-oi an auxiliary supply tankorchamber 5, and may be secured thereto by Said auxiliary supply tank 5may have a bottom closure 7 which may be connected by a pipe 8 to thecarbureter oi the internal combustion engine abovereferred to. A. ventpipe 9 may extend u 'iv'ardly from the top of the. tank 5 through thechamber 1, and out through the top oi the'lattcr through a socket 10.The exterior of the socket 10 may he screwthreaded to receive. ahexagonal cover 11 which maintains a packing 12 around the upper end ofthe vent pipe 9, and whic at intervals around thev cap 1.3 through whichair may pass. In the interior of the A. cover 3 prevents the entry ofdirt tank or chamber 1 there may be a bracket 15 which may be secured tothe vent pipe 9 for guiding a rod 15 which projects upwardly from smallupper float-17, made of any desired material, but preferably balsa wood.Below the float 1! there is shown rigidly connected a still smallerfipat 18 also made or" any desired material, but preferably of balsaWood, the purpose of which is -rfierely, by a buoying action, to balancethe weight of the upperlloat, said lower float being nearlyalwayssuhmerged. In this way, although until the level of the liquidreaches the float 1? there will he no tendency for the float 17 to beelevated, nevertheless when said float 17 is reached by the level of theliquid it will be given a sudden strong liftingeffort so as to move theparts attached thereto positively and quickly. The rod 16 may beextended below the huoying float 18 where it may he pivoted to a lever19. This lever 19 may have at its other end a link 20 which may connectit to an arm 21 attached to one side of a valve closure adapted to fitagainst the underside of a valve seat 23 carried in an opening in thetop oi the tank 5. in the preferred form of float-operated valve adaptedfor use in the present organization, lever 19 may have at one side aprojcction 24- to contact with a projection 25011 the link 20, so as toprevent lateral displacement of the valve 22 when it is being seated. Inthe initial opening movement of the valve 22 the lever 19 rotates inthis construction shown upon a pivot 25* by means or which the lever 19is connected by a lever 25 to a pivot 25 on the top of the tankAfterward, lnawever the openniovernent ol' the valve 22 is completedrotation oi the lever around the hy the p vot 25. The valve 22 inclosing is moved by the lever 13) on the pivot 25 as'a fulcrmn. At tholop of the lever 2:) there may he stop 25 which limits the movementthereof relative to the lever 19, and at the bottom oi" the lever 25there may be a stop 25 between which and the top of the tank 5 there isnormally a slight clearance to permit the valve 2 to be closedjightly bythe vacuum applied to the top thereof. but this clca ancc is removed atthe beginning of the opening movement of the valve 22 when the liquidbegins to rise in the tank 5. he chamber 1 and the tank 5 may hesupported by means of a bracket 2'5 sur rounding the lower portion ofthe tank which bracket may have an upwardly to he secured by screws 28to the dash hoard or any other part of an automobile. l 'l eltlred orctherwise secured to the top of the tongue 27 there may be a metal strap29 having at one end the cot a hook 30 for engagement with a yolte Bl.connected by a square ring-'32 to a loop on the other end of the strap29 In the operation of my invention, a supply of fuel, such as gasolene,having been supply tank 5, as for example at the lower I rear portion ofan automobile and the engine having been started so as to intermittentlyform a vacuum in the vacuum chamher 1 through the port 3, the fuel willbe drawn from the main supply tank by means of the pipe 2, anddischarged into the vacuum chamber 1, as shown in Fig. 4:,- whichindicates the position of the parts when the valve 22 is closed.Inasmuch as the valve 22 is retained closed by the vacuum which is inthe vacuum chamber 1, as well as the weight of the float 17, the liquidfuel will accumulate in the chamber 1 until the liquid level rises abovethe float 18, and finally reaches the float 17 whereupon a suddenlifting effort of considerable strength will be applied to the rodlowhich will first cause the stop 25. to contact with the top of thetank 5, and then depress the side of the valve 22 to which the arm 21 isattached. This will unseat the valve 22, as shown in Fig. 5,, althoughthe valve 22 is of such large area that the buoyancy of a float in thechamber 1 would not be sullicient to open the valve 22 against the forceof the Vacuum. holding the same closed if the link 20 were connected tothe center of the valve. In this 'ay, a powerful leverage acts byincanso'f the lever 19 to initially open the valve 22. Once that thevznve 22 is unseated in this manner, the vacuum will be broken and thelever 19 will then change its center of rotation from the pivot 25 tothe pivot 25 so as to entirely open the valve 22, and permit the quickdisc-hal e of a large vol- 5 nine of liquid from the chamber 1 into thetank 5. The opening of the valve 22 is completed by the force of gravitymoving the valve int'o position shown in Fig. 6. ln this ay, a constantsupply of fuel will he 119 provided in the auxiliary tank 5, and thefuel will .tlo'w therefrom into the carburetor. whence the mixed air andgasolcne will he supplied to the internal combustion en gins. ln theclosing movement of the valve 115 22, it will he understood that thelever 19 will rotate upon the pivot 25 until the valve 22 is closed, thevalve being closed very quickly because 01" the long leverage with whichit is operated. ll henever the 120 valve 22 is closed, there will he avacuum again developed in the tank 1. but this vacuum will be of acomparatively uniform character because of the fact that at ever suctionstroke of the engine piston; the vac 'uum release valve 3 will open toan extent proportionate to the degree of vacuum appl ed hy tneqengine.presence or" this valvel therefore, also decreases the vacuuni whichapplied to the upper side of the.

valve and consequendy renders i; poc- Sihlo to open said valve viiih asmaller lifting ellor oi the final ihan would otherwise he the case. Forthis reason, the iloak fl? and as a ri'inserpience the iioai; iii areboth made smaller than would otherwise be p ihle. and smaller than wouldunseat lhe ialvc22 tile valve is 'vrere absent. The capacity of ihenmhis, tlieiefre, mrrespondinglv greater. and this as Well as the valveconstrmrlidn which permits a rapid Feed of the oci pdlllilif f the useoi my feeding system 1 connection \viih high powered engine i Bconstructing the aplo paratus in 'l'llir manner, :furili nmore vacuumfeed will he just a cil'eci'ive when ihero is a very lHX vacuum prodncedb she engine as when ihcre is a normal vacuum or a high vacuum produced,The uniform o ralion oi l'he valve 22 i uri'heniore, insured lrv thepresence o'l' ihe screen 3 which prevenls the entry of particles of dirtinto the apparatus. The tank is at all limes vented lo the outer airthrough the 25 vent pipe 5). llhenever ii is aesired to repair theapparatus in readil he r moved hv di aging the. yoke,

1 .i W A 1 ,1 (ll lrom llii hooli l 1g :ae onus of 1 and ineciing "Elieroni the rhauilierl in.

w described wish it io ma he lrom lhe spirit i. in combinalion a vacuun'chamber, auxiliary Suppl tank, a valve providing commui'iica ion betweenthe same. means for operating lhe valve c1'1ni .11' -,.ng a float; annoi'her iloai for balancing ihe \veighl oi 'i'he lirsi, inenlionedlioai.

in conihimsiioii a v1 cuum chamhr" t auviliary supplv tank. 1 valveprovii'iir conmninicalion heiiveen i 1e same means operaiing the valvecomprising a iloai; and another iloal 'lor haluncinglhe ivcigh L oi' theiirst, meniiioned lloai, said ill'f l' meniioned fl at being locuied aconsiderable disl'ance above 'lhe oiher iloai'.

3. ln comhinalion a'vacuuin chamber. an auxiliary supply 'ianli. a valveproviding communicaiion bcl'ivecn lhc same. means for operating 'ihevalve comprising :1 Noah a lover connecting (he lioal lo ihe valve. andlinkage i'or shilling ihe pivot of 'lhe lever lo provido increasedleverage ar lhe beginning oi the opening movement; oi the valve incombination a vacuum c hamboix an auxiliary supply tank, a valveproviding communicaiion between The same. means for operating the, valvecomprising a float, a lever connecting the float lo the valve and.linkage for shifting the pivot of the lever to provide increasedleverage at the beginning ond meniioned lever to limit the movement.

ol' (he mentioned lover.

(S. in combination a vacuum chamber, an auxiliary supply tank, a valveproviding connnunication between thesame, means for operating the valvecomprising a float, a lever and link connecting the float to the valveand linkage for shifting the pivot 0f the lever to provide increasedleverage at the beginning of the opening movement of the valve.

T. in combination a vacuum chamber, an auxiliary supply tank, a vali'eproviding eoninninica'lion between the same, means for op rating thevalve comprising a float, alever and link connecting the floatto thevalve. and linkage for shifting the pivot of the lever to provideincreased leverage at the beginning oi? the opening movement of the VialVG comprising a lever pivotallv sup por ing said lirst mentioned"lever.

7 i eornliinalion a vacuum chamber. an auxiliary supply tank, a valveproviding commonicalion between the same, means for operating thevalvecon'iprising a float, a lever and link connecting the, float to thevalve linkage for shifting the pivot of the lever in provide increasedleverage at the hegiuning of he opening movement of the valie comprisinga lever pivotally support ing said lirsl mentioned level: ann stops onthe second mentioned. lever to limit the movement oi the first mentionedlevel.

9. .ln 'comhinaliona vacuum chamber. an

'uuxiliar supply tank a valve providing communicalion hehvecn the same.means for operating ihe valve comprising a float, a lever and linkconnecting the lloai lo the valve,'

and linkage for shifting the pivot of the levcr l'o provide increasedleverage at the beginning oi the opening movement of the valve. saidlink being connected to the valve at one side lhereoi'.

ill. in co'i'nhinalion a vacuum chamber. an auxiliary supply tank. avalve providing communication hcivveen the same. means for operating thevalve comprising a float, a lever and link connecting the float to thevalve. and linkage for shifting the pivot oi?" the lever lo provideincreased leverage at i'hcbeginning of the opening movement of thevalve. comprising ,a lever pivotally supporting said first mentionedlever, said link being connected to thevalve at one side thereof.

11. In combination a vacuum chamber, an auxiliary supply tank, a valveproviding communication between the same, means for operating the valvecomprising a float, a lever and link connecting the float to the valve,linkage for shifting the pivot of the lever to provide increasedleverage at the beginning of the opening movement of the valve,comprising a lever pivotally supporting" said first mentioned lever, andstops on the second mentioned lever to limit the movement of the firstmentioned lever, said link being connected to "che valve at one sidethereof.

12. l-n combination a vacuum chamber connecting vvitlra main supplytank, an auxiliary supply tank, a valve providing coinmuuication betweenthe vacuum chamber and the auxiliary supply tank adapted io permit thepassage of liquid and gaseous terials, and an automatic vacuum releasevalve for the vacuum chamber.

13. combination a vacuum chamber connected with main supply tank, anauxiliary supply tank, a valve providing communication between thevacuum chamber and the aux 'ary supply tank adapted to permit the liquidand gaseous materials, and an automatic spring-pressed vacuum. relea. avalve for "the vacuum chamber. 1

l ution a vacuum chamber connected with a main supply ianlr, anauxiliary supply tank, a valve providing com munication between thevacuum chamber and the auxiliary supply tank adapted to permil; thepassage of liquid and gaseous materials, means for operating the valvecomprising float. and an automatic vacuuii release valve for the vacuumchamber.

15.111 combinarion. a vacuum chamber connected with a main supply tank,an auto iliary supply tank, a valve providing com munication i c vsciunncha and the auxiliary sup ""y tank adsp 1 permit passage or liquid andgaseous materials, means operating the valve comprising float, an aubomatic springpressed vacuum release val e for the vacuum chamber.- iii.In cembinaion chamber, auxiliary supply tenlr, a. valve providingcommunication between the su a adapted to permit the passage of: liquidv gaseous materials, means operatinc valve one? comprising a float, anda vacuum release valve for the vacuum chamber, said float being smallerthan sufficient to unseat said valve in the absence oi the vacuumrelease valve.

17. In combination a vacuum chamber, an auxiliary supply tank, a valveproviding communication between the same adapt,- ed to permitthe passageof liquid and gaseous materials, means for operating the valvecomprising a float, and. a spring pressed vacuum release valve for thevacuum chamber, said float being smaller than suliicient to unseat saidvalve in the absence of the vacuum release valve.

18. in combination a vacuum chamber connected with a main supply tank,anzf'auxiliary supply tank, a -valve providing com iunication betweenthe vacuum echamber and the auxiliary supply tank, means for operatingthe valve. and an aromatic vacuum release valve-for the vacuum chamber.

19....ln combination a vacuum chamber connected with a main supply tank,an auxiliary supply Sank, a valve providing communication between the'acuum chamber and the auxiliary supply tank, means for operating thevalve comprising a float, and an automatic vacuum release valve for thevacuum chamber.

20. in combination, a vacuum chamber, an auxiliary supply tank, a valveproviding communication between the same, means, comprising a float, foroperating said valve, and an additional float. adapted to buoy saidvaive-operating float, to facilitate the open" inc; and consequent lionof liquid through, said valve.

21. in combination. a vacuum chamber connected with a main supply tank,an. auxiliary supply tank, 2: valve providing communication between thevacuum chamher and the auxiliary supply tank, means for operating thevalve, and an automatic vacuum release for the vacuum chamber.

22. in combination, a vacuum chamber connected with a main supply lack,an auxiliary supply in k. a valve providing comnuinicalion bctivccu thevacuum chamher and the auxiliary supply tank, means for operating thevalve comprising a float,

and an automatic vacuum release for said vacuum chamber.

in testimony that. l claim the foregoing,

l have hereunto set my hand ;his 12th day

